HTML <button> Tag

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The <button> tag is used to create clickable buttons on the web page. The difference between these elements and buttons created with the <input> tag is that you can place the content (images or text) inside the <button>.

Use the <input> element to define a button within HTML form, as browsers display the content of the <button> tag differently.

Syntax

The <button> tag comes in pairs. The content is written between the opening (<button>) and closing (</button>) tags.

Example of the HTML <button> tag:

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
  <head>
    <title>Title of the document</title>
  </head>
  <body>
    <h1>Here will be our button</h1>
    <button type="button">Click</button>
  </body>
</html>

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Using CSS styles

You can apply CSS styles to the <button> tag to change the appearance of the button, its size, color, text font, and so on.

Example of the <button> tag with CSS styles:

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
  <head>
    <title>Title of the document</title>
  </head>
  <body>
    Ordinary button
    <button type="button">Add to the recycle bin</button>
    <hr />
    Button with red text
    <button type="button" style="color: red;"><b>HTML Book </b></button>
    <hr />
    Button with increased font size
    <button type="button" style="font: bold 14px Arial;">Download the book </button><br />
  </body>
</html>

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Result

Attributes

The <button> tag doesn’t have required attributes; however, we recommend always use the type=”button” attribute, if the tag used as an ordinary button.

Attributes

Attributes	Value	Description
autofocus	autofocus	Specifies that the button should receive focus after loading the page.
disabled	disabled	Deactivates the button. (Used when the button should become active after performing some action.)
form	form_id	Specifies one or more forms the button belongs to. If the button has multiple forms, then their identifiers (form_id) must be separated by spaces.
formaction	URL	Defines the address, where the form data will be sent after clicking on the button. (Used only for the buttons with the type="submit" attribute).
formenctype		Defines how the form-data should be encoded when a form is submitted. (Used only for type="submit").
	application/x-www-form-	All symbols are encoded before a form is submitted (default value).
	urlencoded	Symbols are not encoded.
	multipart/form-data	Spaces are being replaced by the sign "+", but symbols aren’t encoded.
	text/plain
formmethod		Defines the method of the HTTP request, which will be used when a form is submitted (only for type="submit").
	get	Passes the form data in the address bar ("name = value"), which are added to the URL of the page after the question mark and are separated by an ampersand (&). (http://example.ru/doc/?name=Ivan&password=vanya)
	post	The browser communicates with the server and sends the data for processing.
formnovalidate	formnovalidate	Specifies that the form-data should not be validated on submission (only for type="submit").
formtarget		Specifies, where the response will be shown after the form is submitted (only for type="submit").
	blank	Opens the response in a new window.
	self	Opens the response in the current window.
	parent	Opens the response in the parent frame.
	top	Opens the response in the full width window.
name	name	Defines the button name.
type		Defines the button type.
	button	ordinary button
	reset	button, that clears the form from the input data
	submit	button for sending form data.
value	text	Defines the button value.

The <button> tag also supports the Global Attributes and the Event Attributes.

How to style <button> tag?

Common properties to alter the visual weight/emphasis/size of text in <button> tag:

CSS font-style property sets the style of the font. normal | italic | oblique | initial | inherit.
CSS font-family property specifies a prioritized list of one or more font family names and/or generic family names for the selected element.
CSS font-size property sets the size of the font.
CSS font-weight property defines whether the font should be bold or thick.
CSS text-transform property controls text case and capitalization.
CSS text-decoration property specifies the decoration added to text, and is a shorthand property for text-decoration-line, text-decoration-color, text-decoration-style.

Coloring text in <button> tag:

CSS color property describes the color of the text content and text decorations.
CSS background-color property sets the background color of an element.

Text layout styles for <button> tag:

CSS text-indent property specifies the indentation of the first line in a text block.
CSS text-overflow property specifies how overflowed content that is not displayed should be signalled to the user.
CSS white-space property specifies how white-space inside an element is handled.
CSS word-break property specifies where the lines should be broken.

Other properties worth looking at for <button> tag:

CSS text-shadow property adds shadow to text.
CSS text-align-last property sets the alignment of the last line of the text.
CSS line-height property specifies the height of a line.
CSS letter-spacing property defines the spaces between letters/characters in a text.
CSS word-spacing property sets the spacing between words.

How to add alt text to a button with an image?

To add alt text to a button with an image, you can use the alt attribute. Here is an example:

<button type="button">
  <img src="button-image.png" alt="Button Label">
</button>

In this example, the alt attribute has been added to the img element inside the button element. The value of the alt attribute should be a short description of the image, which will be read by screen readers in place of the image itself.

How to add a link to a button?

To add a link to a button, you can wrap the button element in an a element with the href attribute set to the URL you want to link to. Here is an example:

<a href="https://example.com">
  <button type="button">
    Button Label
  </button>
</a>

In this example, the a element has been added around the button element, and the href attribute has been set to the URL you want to link to. When the user clicks on the button, they will be taken to the linked URL.